The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1887-04-01
The Dragon Of the Plaing

Guile in the New York Sun, the me.
tropolis of Silverland, wehave asocie-
ty known as the Pacific Coast Pioneers.
This society is composed Of the cold
timers" OF California. No man who
arrived on the Pacific coast later than
1862 is admitted to membership.
The pioneers have a fine hall, contain
ing q cabinent of pres and minerals
and a large collection OF curiosities
gathered in all parts Of the world. The
hall is a place OF daily resort for all
old "Forty.niners' who find time
hanging heavy on their hands. With
these men stories of the early days of
gold digging in California and adven.
lures on the plains" are always in
order. Even when the regular month
Iy meetings are held the amount Of
business to be transacted is so small
that it can be dispatched in q few
minutes, when all present are ready
for the yarn spinning which almost
invariably ensues
At the hall a few evenings ago sever
al of the "Old Boys" as the pioneers
are lovingly called by our Pacific
coasters, were talking over early days
in California. After a number of sto-
ries had been been told Bud Crowner,
a member from "Old Missouri" got
the floor.
81 shall never forget my first ball
in California" said Bud. cit was at
Hangtown (now Placerville), in SO.
In crossin' the plains we had all kinds
of bad luck. We had some OF our
HOSES stold by the I%njuns, and some
got alkalied and iist materially dried
up inter mummies as they walked
along. The poor critters was nothing
but skin and bones. All eIst had
bin eat out'n 'em by the alkali
water and by the alkali they
got in gnawing inter the ground
after heroots ofthe grass, off which
the critters of the head trains had eat
the tops. The animals was nothin'
more than mechanical machines. /
actually saw one boss hobble along at
his usual gait a full half mile after he
was dead. The poor, dried.up old fell
Ter had so little life in him that he did
not know when it left, and his bones
and skin iist went right along till q
stumble tumbled him over.
"Well, when our bosses died off we
left behind wagons, provisions, tools,
and everything but the little we could
pack on our backs. 1t soon got to
be every Teller for himself, and Iniun
take the hindmost. Some of my COM
pany got in with parties who was still
crawlin' along with OK teams, but |
pushed right ahead afoot, and tuck
the desperate chances of gittin' q bite
of grub here and there on the road. /
walked right along by the OK wagons
and by lots Of boss teams. Nearly
naked and half starved, / finally got
to the Humboldt River. / found a.
big party of immigrants camped thar
for a day or two to rest their stock,
wash clothes, bake bread, and the
like.
II was a rough-looking customer;
the wust in ali that congregation. /
had on an old red roundabout o..
warmer, as we call it, that I'd worn
all the way from Pike, Ean trousers
that was ready to drop off me, and q
pair Of moccasins that | got from a
Shoshone Injun for ajacknife. A more
devastated critter nor what / was
you never seed. A man at the camp
tuck pity on me an shown me two
pairs of green baize drawers, told me
If I'd wash EN- | might have n pair
for my trouble.
"As the drawers was sound and
much better than my old pantaloons,
/ jumped at the chance. So / washed
the articles and hung fem up on a
bunch OF willers at the edge of the riv-
err to dry. Presently the TELLER come
and tuck one pair, leayin' the other
for me. He was a little spindlin' bit
OF a cusa, while I was tall and even at
that time, starved as | was weighed
nigh on to one hundred and sixty
pounds. / tuck the drawers and
went some distance down the river
from the camp, where / got behind q
bunch of @ilIers, cut Of the sight OF
the wimmin folks, to make my toilet.
The washin' and dryin' had shrunk
the drawers to SIGH an extent that it
tuck me bout half an hour to git i'm
ter EN-. They was skin tight, and
lacked six inches OF reachin' down to
my ankle iipts. j was an amazin'
sight. / looked for all the world like
q naked man painted green from the
waist down to the calves of the legs.
II walked up and down the bank Of
the stream for u long time before |
could collect my feelin's sufficient to-
ventur back to camp. WhensH re-
viewed myself over ! felt SO modest
that I went and locked for my old
breeches, but 1 had throwed 'erninto